In a major effort of digital transformation across oil and gas sector, ExxonMobil said it is partnering with Microsoft to deploy cloud technology across Permian Basin operations which is its largest-ever oil and gas acreage. The Permian Basin is a large sedimentary basin in the southwestern part of the United States.

Under the partnership, the company will deploy Dynamics 365, Azure, Machine Learning and Internet of Things solutions across ExxonMobil’s XTO Energy subsidiary. According to company executives, this technology push is likely to improve capital efficiency and support Permian production growth by as much as 50,000 oil-equivalent barrels per day by 2025.

“The unconventional business is fast moving, complex and data rich, which makes it well suited for the application of digital technologies to strengthen our operations and help deliver greater value,” said Staale Gjervik, senior vice president, Permian Integrated Development for XTO.

ExxonMobil’s partnership with Microsoft includes an integrated cloud environment that collects real-time data from oil field assets spanning hundreds of miles. The data will enable ExxonMobil to make faster and better decisions on drilling optimization, well completions and prioritization of personnel deployment.

Leak detection and repair response times could be further reduced with enhanced access to emissions data, strengthening XTO’s voluntary actions to manage methane emissions, claimed Microsoft.

ExxonMobil’s application of these technologies in its Permian Basin acreage, which covers a 9.5 billion oil-equivalent barrel resource base and more than 1.6 million acres, represents industry’s largest acreage position using cloud technology, said the company.

“ExxonMobil is leading the way for industry, grounding their goals in making data-driven decisions that will result in safer operations for their employees and more profitable activities for the company,” said Alysa Taylor, corporate vice president of Microsoft Business Applications and Industry.

Mircorosft said that its platforms like Azure Data Lake, will enable ExxonMobil to incorporate third-party solutions at scale across the Permian and with Dynamics 365, ExxonMobil and XTO will have an end-to-end view of the Permian operations.

“Through our partnership with Microsoft, we’re combining our technical and engineering expertise with cloud and data analytics capabilities to develop the Permian resource in the most capital-efficient manner. Collaboration with Microsoft is key to our future development efforts, which include predictive maintenance capacities, innovative tools for employees, and artificial intelligence and machine learning integration,” stated Gjervik.